Effects of physical activity on earnings in the Brazilian labor market

Our article investigates the effects of physical activity on earnings in the Brazilian labor market, analyzing workers aged between 30 and 50 years. To that end, quantile regression was applied to analyze microdata from the 2008 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD). The results showed that workers who engage in regular physical exercise exhibit better social and economic conditions compared to sedentary individuals. Sedentary lifestyles are typically more common among female employees than their male counterparts and this is reflected in earnings in the labor market. The impact of physical activity on wages varied from 15.0 to 31.0% and was greater among the highest quantiles. The lowest salaries were recorded among non-white sedentary women.

Table 6.

Average salary among women according to schooling (in USD PPP).

Years of schooling	Active		Sedentary
	White	Non-white	White	Non-white
Uneducated and less that 1year of schooling	609.47	300.36	276.04	221.53
1–3 years	317.92	300.90	283.69	233.51
4–7 years	407.05	522.02	345.59	514.97
8–10 years	858.03	355.51	354.80	354.80
11–14 years	858.03	631.39	691.23	510.64
Over 15 years	2145.19	1833.56	1673.83	1355.78

Source: IBGE—PNAD Microdata/2008.

Available: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1517758016300820

No artigo há muitas tabelas e resultados econométricos que mostram que os indivíduos ativos ganham mais do que os sedentários. Informo que testamos muitos modelos e métodos de estimação e todos eles apresentaram resultados similares. Então, recomendamos aos sedentários a prática regular de atividade desportiva como forma de melhorar sua saúde, aumentar a sua disposição geral, e ainda  obter ganhos salariais importantes.